More Americans Turn Up Noses at Safety-And Broccoli

Compiled From News Services, St Louis Post-Dispatch (MO)

Fewer Americans are obeying speed limits, exercising vigorously
or paying close attention to the fiber and sodium in their diets.
And adding to the list of unhealthy behavior, they're eating less
broccoli.

Almost two-thirds feel stressed out at least once a week, and
three in 10 get by on six hours of sleep a night or less. All told,
the average American practices only two-thirds of the behaviors
that signal a healthy lifestyle, an annual ranking produced by the
health magazine Prevention shows.

Sen. Nancy L. Kassebaum, R-Kan., chairwoman of the Senate Labor
and Human Resources Committee, joined the magazine's editors at a
news conference Monday to release the 12th annual Prevention Index.

Kassebaum said the survey was important in focusing attention
on areas of human health in need of vast improvement. But she said
government should not always try to impose regulations to force
behavioral changes.

"There are those areas where, through peer pressure and
emotional impact, we tend to respond," Kassebaum said. "I think
there is a limited role for government."

A survey last November of 1,262 adults on 21 healthy practices
produced an overall score of 65.6 on a scale of 1 to 100, down
slightly from last year's 66.8 and the lowest since 1989. But it is
still significantly higher than the first Prevention Index of 61.5
in 1984.

Tom Dybdahl, director of the index, said Americans' behavior
changed most dramatically when they could focus on a single,
relatively easy act, such as wearing auto safety belts or
installing a smoke detector.

It is more of a challenge, he said, to persuade busy people to
exercise regularly and eat more broccoli.

"Viewed over the past decade, living healthfully is neither a
rapidly growing trend nor a disappearing phenomenon," Dybdahl said.
"Rather, it is a complex and ongoing struggle, with progress in one
area often accompanied by decline in another. …

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